A 54-year-old man accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Nikitas in Crete, along with his wife who faces complicity charges, were ordered into pre-trial detention after giving statements to authorities in Heraklion.
The couple are expected to be transferred to prisons outside Crete following the decision.
The case has shocked Greece, not only because of the killing itself but also because of the emotional and disturbing statements made during the suspect’s lengthy testimony.
“If I Had a Thousand Bullets…”
According to reports from the hearing, the 54-year-old spoke openly about the shooting and the emotional state he claims he was in at the time. “If I had a thousand bullets, I would have fired a thousand at him, but I only had six,” he reportedly said shortly before completing his testimony.
He also made a final request to authorities: “I only ask one favor. Take me once more to my child’s grave, because I will never see it again to say goodbye.”
The suspect said he no longer cared what happened to him and described himself as psychologically destroyed long before the fatal incident. “At that moment, in his face I saw nothing other than the killer of my son,” he said. “I was not myself anymore. The real Kostas had been lost long ago. I could not control myself, my thoughts or my behavior. A black veil had covered my mind.”
Wife Says “It Was Too Late”
The suspect’s wife, who is accused of assisting in the crime, denied active involvement and described the shooting as a horrifying moment she could not stop. “The only thing I remember is screaming, ‘Kostas, no, no, no!’ but it was already too late,” she said.
She added that the images from the scene would remain with her forever. “The man who killed Nikitas was not my Kostas,” she said. “He was another person. He did not even look like himself. He was like a madman, a dark spirit, completely disconnected from reality.”
Emotional Funeral for 20-Year-Old Victim
As court proceedings unfolded, relatives and friends gathered to say farewell to Nikitas in an atmosphere of grief and shock.
During the funeral service, the local metropolitan bishop addressed the young victim directly and asked for forgiveness “on behalf of everyone.”
The victim’s father delivered one of the most emotional moments of the day, recalling a conversation he once had with the suspect after the death of the suspect’s own child several years earlier. “When we met at the hospital after the accident, I told him I would rather my own child had died instead of his,” the father said. “I told him I had been mourning his child for three years. If his child could come back, then let him kill my child. Let him kill him.”
Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of the killing and the alleged role of the suspect’s wife.
